A Life Worth Living
by ghilliekitten
Summary: Remember the boy at the beginning of At Word's End? this is his story How did he end up with the peice of eight? Does he have a connection with Captain Jack Sparrow, or not? What role does Beckett play in all of this?


Title: A Life Worth Living

Disclaimer: Not mine, never has been and never will be.

A/N - first off, thanks to liteswitch for all your help :) I'm sure this story still has many problems, but it would have many, many more without your help :) thanks :) anywho ... I know this has been done before, but I wanted to give some history to the boy at the beginning of AWE ... it's just my take on it, so, please read, hopefully enjoy and don't forget to hit the little button after that to send a review :) okay, enough babbling ... on with the story ...

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Jean looked up at the noose, not wanting to believe that this was going to be the end of everything, not wanting to believe that he had failed in the task his captain had given him.

But looking up at the noose, Jean thought about his only two regrets – the first one was how little he knew of his parents, though that couldn't be helped. Jean Dalton, the name he had given to the marines aboard the Navy ship was his father's name; the only thing he had from his father. His mother had never spoken of his father, nor had his father ever come to visit his son. Jean's mother had been a barmaid in Tortuga, but his father could have been anyone – his mother would never say. She died when he was only five years old, so he barely remembered her. After that he had to make his own way in the world, but it was only after he had found his way aboard a ship that he finally found some manner of security and acceptance. He had met Captain Anamaria in Tortuga after she had caught him trying to stowaway aboard her ship when he was nine years old.

"_What is your name?" she asked him perfunctorily _

"_Jean" he had said _

"_And what exactly were you thinking trying to sneak aboard my ship?" _

"_I just thought that somehow life would be better at sea – I've always seen people go to sea, and I wanted to go myself" he explained. Anamaria nodded. She could understand being drawn to the sea. _

"_What, might I ask do your parents think of this?" she asked in a slightly gentler tone _

" _I don't suppose it matters" Jean told her "My mum is dead, and she was the only parent I ever had" he explained. _

"_Well then, Jean" she said, after a moment's thought, then nodded. "In that case I will allow you to come with us – I need some more help on my ship anyway, so we'll see how well you do." _

Jean had stayed with that ship for three years, and he never regretted a minute of the time that he spent at sea. Captain Anamaria, who could strike fear into the heart of even the toughest sailor among the crew took a liking to him; she taught him everything he knew about the sea. Jean considered them the best three years of his life – until the battle. He was helping to trim the sails when the call of "Sail Ho!" from the lookout announced the presence of ships on the horizon. That was the first clue he had that there was something wrong. Captain Anamaria quickly scaled the mast up to the crow's nest to take a look and, seeing the two ships coming up quickly on then started shouting out orders to the crew to prepare for battle while she descended from the mast. The crew scurried to obey her orders and when she arrived on deck she pulled Jean into her cabin, and she handed him a silver coin.

"_Here" said his captain, holding out a silver coin "Take this – go find Jack Sparrow; he'll know what to do about this. Tell him I sent you." _

"_But why me?" _

"_Listen closely" said Captain Anamaria "We both know that Beckett is the one who orchestrated this whole mess, but James Norrington will probably be the officer in charge of the marines in this expedition; I'd be very surprised if he wasn't, or if Beckett was anywhere within several hundred miles. That means that you have a chance. Norrington may dislike pirates, but he doesn't want us all dead like Beckett does. That and he's a reasonable man – he wouldn't execute a child, he'll give you a chance to change." Anamaria smiled ironically "Just tell him that I captured you and forced you to serve in my crew and that you regret every minute of being on my ship, and that you want to live a 'respectable' life – tell him anything you want, but don't give him any information about the Brethren Court and everything should be fine. Promise me that you'll find Jack Sparrow and give this to him." _

"_Aye, Captain" Jean said "I'll do that"_

"_If you are unable to find Jack Sparrow, let the coin speak to you – you'll know what to do if that happens, but hopefully it won't be necessary." All Jean could do was nod. It was too much like a death wish, and that made him feel extremely uncomfortable – He had always thought of Captain Anamaria as being tough, a woman who fought any battle that needed to be fought and won. She could be tough, but she was also kind; she had proved that when she had taken him on as a cabin boy. But he had never once though of her as vulnerable. There wasn't much time to actually do much more discussing, however – a few moments later, the ship came under attack. Jean could both hear the cannonfire that pounded the ship and feel the force of the impact jar the ship so badly it was all he could do to maintain balance. Jean and Anamaria ran to the decks, Anamaria shouting a few orders and pulling out her cutlass and pistol, any air of vulnerability had vanished in that few seconds – she was now every inch the invincible pirate captain her crew thought she was. _

"_Jean" she said, turning around "I want you to find someplace to hide, and stay there" _

"_I'm not a coward! That would be abandoning this ship, you …" Jean protested _

"_You're not a coward" Anamaria replied "You're following orders. No matter who captures you they'll see you as a pirate until you prove otherwise, which means that you'll be given a moment to get their attention and convince them you shouldn't be executed as a pirate. Don't forget, you still have a mission to accomplish, which probably won't be easy" _

_Jean nodded – there was nothing he could say, and so he did what any good sailor does and followed orders. He wished he could join the rest of the crew and defend the ship, but he was given no choice in the matter. _

"_Wait!" he shouted as one of the marines put him in the iron handcuffs "What are you doing? It was never my intention to live the life of a pirate – she captured me and forced me to serve in her crew." _

"_Well then" said the marine "If that is truly the case then you won't mind giving us some information" Jean nodded _

"_I don't know much, though. I am just a cabin boy, and nobody ever told me much of anything" _

"_We'll see what we can make of your information" said the marine. "If you have sufficient information, we may let you live. If not …" Jean swallowed hard – what about finding Jack Sparrow? _

"_So … the most important question is – where are the Brethren Court meeting?" asked the marine _

"_I .. I don't know" Jean stammered, lying "I was only a cabin boy, so no one really told me anything." _

"_Then you wouldn't happen to know who the nine pirate lords are and where they are located, would you?" _

"_No" Jean lied again _

"_You didn't overhear anything about this while performing your duties as cabin boy?" the marine asked. Jean shook his head "I find that very suspicious" the marine concluded. _

"_I agree" said another man who was just entering the room_

"_Lord Beckett" said the marine, and Jean noticed the obvious deference the marine gave to this man, almost as though he was the captain. He was obviously very powerful, and Jean wondered briefly why he had come. Beckett crossed the cabin in one fluid motion. His eyes were as dark as the night but as sharp as daggers. He reached out and tilted Jean's head up to look at him. It was almost as if all of the blood this … Beckett had spilled was never completely washed from his hands – Jean could almost feel it there despite his hands being very literally clean without any hint of dirt or grime. _

"_So, you say you didn't want to live the life of a pirate, yet you have no information of consequence to give me?" Beckett asked, and Jean was strongly reminded of the purr of a cat as it plays with something it's caught before eating it. _

"_No one told me anything about a Brethren Court before you mentioned it" Jean said_

"_Really" said Beckett. A pause. "I don't believe you" he told Jean. He turned to leave, but when he reached the door he said _

"_There is one thing that you can do to help me" he said, turning around. Jean opened his mouth to protest. _

"_You have never heard of the Brethren Court before" said Beckett "Then you have no knowledge the significance of the nine Pirate Lords or the nine pieces of eight" Jean shook his head, even though it was a lie. Beckett looked thoughtful. This boy reminded him very strongly of his son, and for a fleeting moment he wanted to give him a chance. Then again, his son had turned pirate also … so putting whatever kindness he felt for the boy aside he continued to question him._

"_You expect me to believe that – I know that your ship was on its way to deliver a message to one of the Pirate Lords, and yet you claim to have no knowledge of this" _

"_No" said Jean, looking down " I don't"_

"_then you must be a poor cabin boy, not to know what your captain was doing" said Beckett. "Either you are very stupid or you are lying. Either way, if you do not give me the information I seek you will face the gallows on the morrow. You have until then to decide." _

Jean felt himself being lifted onto the barrel, being raised closer to the noose, wondering what he could possibly do … finding Jack Sparrow was out of the question, and he was coming to terms with the fact that he wouldn't be able to escape with his own life. What bothered him most was failing in the mission Captain Anamaria had given him. But … hadn't she said something about letting the coin speak to him if something happened? Jean fingered the piece of eight, hoping what Captain Anamaria had said was true and that he would be able to succeed despite being unable to find Jack Sparrow

"_the king and his men stole the queen from her bed" _he sung, somehow the song about the goddess Calypso seemed especially appropriate … it seemed somehow right to be singing this particular song. He continued to sing, his voice gaining more confidence as the song progressed, and he became more sure that thiswas the right thing to be doing

"_And bound her in her bones _

_The seas be ours and by the powers _

_Where we will we'll roam" _

"_Yo ho, all hands together_" a man beside him joined in the song. Although Jean couldn't exactly hear the piece of eight speaking, he got the sense that this was the right thing to be doing, and a vague sense that his death, and the deaths of all the pirates who were being executed would not be in vain; they would amount to something, and that piracy would endure.

"_Hoist the colours high_

_Heave ho, thieves and beggars"_

Jean felt the noose being placed around his neck, but found that he didn't care anymore – he hadn't failed. The song had been sung and the Brethren Court would meet to fight Beckett and the East India Trading Company. Jean hadn't failed his captain after all.

"_Never shall we die" _Jean felt the noose tighten around his neck, and the barrel fall away from under him as the trapdoor opened.


End file.
